Subscribe to the 100% free rdnewsNOW daily newsletter!
Colton Sceviour (#7) (Photo: The Canadian Press)
healthy and recharged

Sceviour excited for start of ‘new era’ for Florida Panthers

Sep 9, 2019 | 10:27 AM

The Chinese Zodiac says 2020 is the Year of the Rat. That could be a good sign for Red Deer’s Colton Sceviour and the Florida Panthers.

It was the spring of 1996 – also the Year of the Rat – and the Florida Panthers were in the Stanley Cup Final for the first and only time in franchise history. Fans threw plastic rats on the ice after Panthers goals during that playoff run.

The Panthers have missed the playoffs the past three years Sceviour has been in Florida. But he hopes a new head coach, some great free agent signings and a full season for himself will mean the return of the rats and a Stanley Cup run.

Sceviour was held to five goals and 15 points in 59 games last season after breaking his hand in February. He was able to play the last 15 games of the schedule, but he says his hand never really felt 100 percent.

After a long off-season he is eager to get back to the Sunshine State, where he knows there will be higher expectations.

“There is definitely some added pressure on us as a team with the summer we had, but of course in a good way,” Sceviour said said. “We made some huge moves, starting with getting coach Q (Joel Quennville—second most wins as a head coach in NHL history), former Vezina trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky, 2018 Stanley Cup winner Brett Connolly, 2019 cup finalist Noel Acciari and solid defensemen Anton Stralman. So if we don’t make the playoffs it’s definitely considered a failure, so I think there is some added pressure but I think it’s a positive and a good kind of pressure.”

Even with new additions to the Panthers roster, there is one guy Sceviour is really going to miss as goaltender Roberto Luongo announced his retirement in June after a very successful career.

“Playing on the same ice as someone I consider a first ballot Hall of Famer is really cool, but his leadership and his presence and calming influence will be missed.”

The former Portland Winterhawk and Lethbridge Hurricane played three years with “Strombone” (Luongo’s Twitter alias).

“When it came to going to the rink for a practice or game he was all business, dialed in. But when he was away from the rink and had some down time he was a funny person off the ice, which everyone got to see on Twitter.”

A big change in the 30 year-old’s routine also happened last season as he and his wife welcomed the arrival of their first child, a baby boy. Having another person to look after and provide for actually helped relieve some of the NHL work stress, he admits, and family time over the summer helped him recharge mentally.

So, with training camp right around the corner a healthy, happy Colton Sceviour is looking forward to a full season on the ice, a return to the playoffs and the Year of the Rat!